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Having seen "The Pledge" without knowing much about it, I got something other than what I bargained for. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

If you're looking for a good whodunit, avoid this movie. If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller, avoid this movie. But if you're into seeing an intense character study bolstered by impressive acting and clever directing (kudos, Sean Penn), you've come to the right place.

I read one IMDB review calling this film Nicholson's worst ever. This is not true -- that reviewer obviously never saw "Man Trouble" -- but I can see why some folks really don't like this movie. It doesn't deliver what you'd expect, and what it does deliver is neither conventional nor uplifting. In fact, it's pretty depressing. But if you ponder the story afterward, you realize there's a certain dark justice at work here. Like, blacklight dark.

So then, "The Pledge" is not a light and frothy piece, but if you're the type who thinks watching some poor b**tard's descent into madness is entertainment, have at it.

Faithful to the book in most regards, the film is excellent, and Nicholson's performance is beyond reproach. While the denouement may have had issues (not with the point or the meaning, but rather the delivery), the film is still outstanding.

Nicholson's relationship with the girl (he is beautiful as an aged father) and his inexorable obsession with the murderer are perfect in the film. Sadly, Penn's pacing is inconsistent, as is the sense of "detective" that Duerenmatt was careful to give his novel: the film's heartbeat ranges from driving to rambling, and most thematically appropriate may have been a measured beat which is lacking here.

Nonetheless, the film is gripping, and captures the point, spirit and feel of the novel perfectly. It may not pull off the trick of being both faithful and profitable, but the film is true, and the acting impeccable.

I am impressed, Sean Penn. Serial killers are always something that intrigue me, but not every movie does a good job with it. The Pledge changed it up a bit where the focus is more on a retiree learning how to deal with getting old. Jack Nicholson continues to show why he is so good in films.

I don't think I've ever said "Oh wow" as many times before as I did in the opening credits of 'The Pledge'. Huge name after huge name just kept appearing. Every time I thought that had to be the end of it, another massive star would pop up. It turns out a lot of them were only there for very short cameos, but still to see all those people in one movie was pretty cool.

The real star of the show at the end of the day though is Jack Nicholson. I forget what an incredibly charismatic and natural actor he was. Every scene he's in feels so effortless and organic. I actually suspect a very large portion of my enjoyment of this film was simply down to his performance.

The movie itself was a strange one. It sets up a really interesting premise, with a retired investigator who thinks the real killer of children is still on the loose. Instead of going and hunting him though, he more or less decides to wait him out with some bait set. It's not the worst idea, but it doesn't make for as interesting of a film.

Then there's the ending. I won't go into any details. I'll just say I did not care for it. And I usually love different and unique endings. But we had invested too much time and care into this story for that to be the conclusion. It felt cheap, unrealistic and extremely unsatisfying.

At the end of the day though it's going to be very hard to make a bad film with Nicholson as your lead. I enjoyed this film, without ever loving it.

The Pledge is a....... good movie.

I see how people can dislike it, it is a kind of long movie, and you have to be patient with it. The ending is kind of frustrating to those seeking all the answers, but anyone with a fairly open mind will like it instantly.

The movie was good, I liked it, my mom and my little sister even liked it.

Sean Penn made sure not to try to win over a crown using the generic appeal, sex, gore, et cetera. He was very classy with this movie, good job on his part.

Acting was good throughout the movie, Jack Nicholson did a good job, I especially liked Benicio Del Toro's part, even though it was not too long.

I don't know, pretty much, it's a good movie, nothing out of the ball park. But it is worth the watch.

I'm not that crazy about the story, which has been put to film at least twice before. (I think the other movie is The Cold Light of Day.) In the other movie, which was set in one of the Soviet bloc countries, there was also a serial killer after young girls, and the detective makes the morally questionable decision to put a girlfriends daughter unknowingly at risk to use as bait. The swingset for the girl beside the road (where the killer would be sure to see her) was copied over from the novel.

For sheer moviemaking prowess, though, this team of actors and Penn as the director is unbeatable. Every performance comes across with perfect sincerity and you forget you are looking at famous actors. There are some surreal touches as well, when bit players from the early part show up on screen late in the story with non speaking roles.

Four stars. Even if you don't like Jack Nicholson.

I had rather low expectations for The Pledge - even though I've admired Penn as an actor (Dead Man Walking, Racing With The Moon, etc.) I really didn't care much for his writing/directing attempts (Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard) so I finally got around to watching this on cable and I was not prepared for how intriguing, intelligent and emotionally powerful the movie was. Yes, obviously, from other people's comments, this isn't every one's cup of tea. Fine. You want quickie thriller, wall to wall action - go watch Con Air or something. Popcorn movies are fine. People need to turn off their brains and escape every now and then (Unfortunately for big budget movies - its more NOW and very rarely THEN)> So that is why I really enjoyed the slow pace and the ambiguity of the plot - it left things out there for you to find, to discover, to ponder. Nicholson - who is so capable of just phoning it in lately or just doing a gig for a paycheck (Anger Management - YIKES!!!) - but here he really delivers a strong, aching performance. He is surrounded by excellent actors (especially Del Toro, Eckhart and a very impressive tiny scene from Mickey Rourke). I know there are huge fans of the German book and the movie - I will seek them out. But I have watched this film twice and it is even more powerful the second time. One CAN be driven mad by NEVER knowing something so ghastly, something so important.

Pace & Thrill: 14 out of 20

Plot: 6 out of 10

Direction: 7 out of 10

Cinematography: 7 out of 10

Creativity: 3 out of 5

Acting: 9 out of 10

Script: 6 out of 10

Ending (last 5 minutes): 3 out of 10

Music: 3 out of 5

Originality and meaning: 3 out of 10

Deductions: -3 for ending

Overall: 57 out of 100 Holistic rating: 6 out of 10

The ¨Pledge¨ is an awesome movie with tension , thriller , chills and extraordinary performances with special mention to starring Jack Nicholson who does a superb acting . It's a remake from vintage Switzerland/Spain/German co-production titled ¨The Bait¨ (1958) directed by Ladislao Vadja with Heinz Ruhmann , Maria Rosa Salgado , Michael Simon and Gert Frobe . This haunting movie based on a Fredrich Durrenmatt novel concerns about a detective ( an obstinate Jack Nicholson in similar role played by Heinz Ruhmann ) who on the day of his retirement becomes involved in the case of a little girl's killing . The retiring police chief pledges the parents ( Patricia Clarson and Michael O'Keefe in brief performances ) to catch the killer of the young child . Detective Jerry Black has made a promise he can't break, to catch a killer he can't find . At the beginning appears as suspect an unfortunate vagrant , a retarded Native trapper ( incomparable Benicio Del Toro in the role of Michael Simon ). But the Nevada police detective doesn't believe the police detained the right man ; he investigates this is the third incident in the zone in the recent past with victims young , blond, pretty, and small for their age . He gets some clues from a drawing by the killed girl , as the murderous can be a tall man who drives a black car , gives toy porcupines as gifts, and calls himself the wizard . In order to search the killer , the police buys a gas station to Floyd ( Harry Dean Stanton ) and takes employee a separated woman ( a sweet Robin Wright who married Sean Penn ) with a daughter, being his intention of use them as bait for the cruel murderous . The police detective trying to trap a child killer , at the same time his mind on the woman and the little girl . It leads to the climax with the presence of the serial killer along with the kid and the possible tragedy.

This is a well crafted movie plenty of suspense , thrills and psychological studio . The picture functions on various levels with superb characters well played by an all-star cast and a well-paced screenplay . Its perfect developing resides not in displays of frenzied action and grisly violence like happen in modern cinema, but rather lies about interesting characters and suspenseful . The story as told in the novel is scary enough , but the picture manages to create an atmosphere of unbearable tension and palpable terror within the enchanting , brightly-lit outdoors of a small location . Colorful and glittering cinematography by Chris Menges - The mission- . Sensible and touching musical score with some wonderful song by Hans Zimmmer and Klaus Badelt . This fine-tuned motion picture is excellently directed by Sean Penn . In my opinion this is one of the best films to come out of America in the decade of the 2000 .If you like thoughtful and brooding films that are exciting and rich pace with rhythm but no displaying a great deal of action, you'll like this one. Penn has proved to be a good filmmaker , such as : ¨The Indian runner¨(91) , ¨The crossing guard¨(95) , this ¨The pledge¨(2001) and ¨Into the wild¨ (2002) at his best .

Other movies based this exciting novel are the following : 'The cold light of day' (1995) directed by Rudolf Van Den Berg with Richard E Gant , and as a 1997 TV movie ; and of course the best adaptation the Spain/Switzerland/Germany production titled ¨The Bait¨ (1958) directed by Ladislao Vadja .

I have been an admirer of Sean Penn's previous directorial efforts ('The Indian Runner' and 'The Crossing Guard'), but he has really surpassed himself with this one. Re-teamed with Jack Nicholson he has helped that legendary actor create his best on screen performance since his 1970s peak ('Five Easy Pieces', 'Last Detail', 'Cuckoo's Nest', 'Marvin Gardens' et al). Nicholson has always been sensational but over the last ten years or so has sleepwalked his way through way too many movies, culminating in his irritating and mannered performance in the cliched and sentimental claptrap 'As Good As It Gets'. 'The Pledge' has obviously recharged his creative batteries. He is simply stunning in this film.

Nicholson is supported by a superlative array of actors, ranging from Aaron Eckhart ('The Company Of Men') and Sam Shepard ('The Right Stuff') to British vets Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgrave, to Nicholson's old cronies Lois Smith ('Five Easy Pieces') and Harry Dean Stanton ('The Rebel Rousers'). While the cast is packed with familiar faces, none are gratuitous, all are first rate, and contribute to the overall excellence of the movie. Special mention must be made to the memorable cameos of Benicio Del Toro, and an as especially compelling performance by Mickey Rourke. Long underrated and often ridiculed, Rourke once again shows just how compelling he is as an actor.

'The Pledge' sticks out like a sore thumb in today's climate of wall to wall action movies, dumb comedies, and contrived "blockbusters". This is a real movie, with outstanding acting and a haunting story. Sadly fewer and fewer movies of this calibre are hitting the big screen, so treasure it!

The Pledge is a solid thriller with some cameo powerhouse performances by actors like Mickey Rourke, Aaron Eckhart, Vanessa Redgrave, Pauline Roberts etc..

I must say that I'm a little bit split on the movie. It has great production value, an interesting soundtrack, some neat cinematography and the script is engaging. I would say that the movie falls apart a little bit towards the last third. The ending will irritate some viewers for sure. I will say that the 'twist' is very unique and probably more realistic than any other movie on that topic. But it also feels like a hat that doesn't quite fit the movie. I think Penn tried too hard to be taken seriously as a director here and slapped-on a very 'artsy' and existential ending that doesn't really fit the straight-forward and sometimes on-the-nose style. Especially in the beginning I wished there was more of a background to our protagonist, we never understand what triggers this obsession with this particular case. I mean, sure he promised the parents to bring them justice, but I'm pretty sure in his long career it's not the first time he made this kind of promise to a victim's family. And he isn't a religious person either, so there is nothing that links this particular case with his personal past. It felt like there were pieces missing.

There are a couple of slow-motion scenes, symbolism and other visual flourishes which try too hard to give it some integrity. But I think the movie didn't need it honestly. I still give the movie props in that it tries something different, in that it doesn't focuses too much on the investigation or the killer himself, but the obsession of the detective. Later, other movies like Zodiac or Memories of Murder would perfect this kind of angle. The movie still creates a very interesting atmoshphere and was overall entertaining to watch. Even if the ending doesn't hit as strong as Penn wanted to, I'm curious to see the original german version of this film now.

6 out of 10.

With Hollywood royalty directing and acting in this film which is laboured and overlong I suspect some critics were afraid to be seen to go against the flow. The story is a good one with a good twist at the end. There is nothing wrong with the directing except it is a bit too self indulgent on Penn's part that sadly spoilt it for me as I found myself drifting about half way through!

The story is gripping but you realize toward the middle of the movie that there is no twist in the plot, and that the story is very plain, and the end has got to be the most disappointing in film making history. A true failure. I don't mean to say that every movie has to have closure, this one does but the closure is unbelievably disappointing.

Sean Penn proves himself a first-rate director who gets moving, deep performances out of all his actors. And what a supporting cast - in addition to Nicholson (at his most subtle, something he doesn't always do), there's Harry Dean Stanton, Benecio Del Toro, Tom Noonan, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Wright Penn, the list goes on and on with the best charactor actors around. Del Toro does something completely different once again. The story is very moving and almost at the level of a Greek tragedy. Beautifully shot and edited with good use of score. The best drama I've seen in quite a while.